SEATTLE – Sunday’s match with the LA Galaxy had all the makings of a Seattle Sounders victory, but their old foes refused to allow it.
Following a coaching change midweek and the signing of Nicolas Lodeiro, the Sounders were invigorated for their match with the Galaxy. Their mood was boosted further when Christian Roldan gave Seattle an early lead minutes into the second half. The Sounders seemed to be cruising toward victory until Sebastian Lletget’s tallied the equalizer for the Galaxy in the 78th minute and ruined Seattle’s afternoon.
Despite failing to get the victory, the Galaxy were happy to deny Seattle the win that they desperately needed to turn their season around.
“It seemed like it was a perfect storm for them: new coach, new player, a full stadium at home, another arrival as well,” Jeff Larentowicz said. “We knew it was a tough game, but I thought the first half to keep it tight was good. Second half they obviously continued to push, but for Sebastian [Lletget] to come on and get the goal was huge and I thought we continued to push until the end.”
The match was anything but pretty for the Galaxy who struggled to create much offense throughout the 90 minutes. Add in sweltering temperatures which were magnified by the CenturyLink turf and the Galaxy found creating chances nearly impossible.
“That was a rough day for us to sneak out of here with a point,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said. “We’re out of town real quick and we’re not looking back.”
The result gives the Galaxy a near-perfect end to an undefeated month of July. Los Angeles finishes with a 5-0-1 record across all competitions during the month and sit in third place in the Western Conference.
After another point on the road, the Galaxy are confident that they can keep their run of form going.
“I think one thing that players who’ve been around the league know is that these are the dog days of summer. July, August, it gets difficult,” Larentowicz said. “But at the same time, if you can come together and get points, you’re going to be in a good spot towards the end of the year. It was an important month. Next month is bigger.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
